


Getting Off the Fence

by zinke



Series: What We Didn't See [2]
Category: West Wing
Genre: Episode Tag, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-02-13
Updated: 2007-02-13
Packaged: 2017-10-12 04:45:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/120951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zinke/pseuds/zinke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We could get together for coffee, before the rally. To go over talking points…or something."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Getting Off the Fence

**Author's Note:**

> Many beta thanks to Amara, who took the time to read despite her imminent move.

** * *

"...You know, I find myself on days like this casting about for someone to blame... and I am filled with rage. And then I try and find compassion…Doesn't always work so well. I remember as a young man listening on the radio to Dr. King in 1968. He asked of us compassion and we responded. Not necessarily because we felt it, but because he convinced us that if we could find compassion, if we could express compassion, and if we could just pretend compassion it would heal us so much more than vengeance could. And he was right; it did."  
\- Excerpt from speech by Congressman Matthew Santos  
Greater Page Temple Church of God in Christ, Los Angeles, CA

* * * *

He pulled the door shut with a satisfying bang just as his cell phone began to trill. Inhaling sharply, Josh took only a cursory glance at the caller ID before raising the phone to his ear. "Just tell me that the Congressman made it out of there without the congregation pelting him with their hymnals."

"Better than that. He nailed it." Settling back into the seat leather, Donna felt the muscles in her shoulders begin to relax for the first time in days as the car eased away from the curb and into traffic.

Josh frowned into the early morning sunlight as he slipped on his sunglasses, scanning the quiet street from the brownstone's steps as he did so. "That's not funny."

"I really wasn't trying to be."

"You're serious? How?"

"You know, I would have thought that you, as a true connoisseur, would be able to recognize my exceptional   
wit—"

"Why isn't Lou telling me this?"

Donna visibly flinched at his blatant rejection of her overture. Struggling to not sound petulant, she took a measured breath before responding stiffly, "Lou's talking to George at MSNBC about adding a clip from the church to the cycle, and possibly scheduling a satellite interview with the Congressman tomorrow morning as follow-up. She asked me to call and check in."

"The speech was that good?" he asked, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice.

"He didn't use the speech."

Josh sighed tiredly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Again?"

"Be thankful that he didn't. That speech would never have gotten us this kind of response." She paused, savoring the sound of the Congressman's powerful, honest words, still ringing in her ears. "You were right, Josh."

"About what?"

"The Congressman. He's our guy."

With Toby's scathing disbelief still fresh in his mind, Josh found it difficult to muster the words or the energy to agree with her. "So, give it to me in a nutshell," he redirected instead, as he shuffled down the townhouse's steps to the sidewalk. "Even if Lou convinces MSNBC to run it nationally, it'll be at least an hour before I get to see anything here."

Unable to hide her shock, Donna took a quick glance at her watch before replying, "You're not at the office?"

Josh rotated in place slowly, tilting his head back slowly to take in the newly yellowed leaves on the trees, the crisp blue of the sky. "No. So, what'd he say?"

"He said...what a leader should have said; what he felt. He won them over by proving that he still _is_ one of them."

"Donna!" he yelped in exasperation, running his free hand roughly through his hair, "We've been struggling to convince the electorate that the Congressman is 'Presidential' material. We finally made some real headway in the debate; do you really think now is the time for him to be marketing himself as 'just one of the guys'?" Josh looked around self-consciously, suddenly all-too-aware of just how loud his voice had become. Despite seeing no one nearby, Josh tucked his head and began making his way down the street at a brisk pace, putting as much distance between Toby's home and himself as quickly as possible.

"Yes, I think this is exactly the time, Josh. The great leaders of this country did not become great because they put themselves above their constituents. They achieved great things because they didn't forget what it meant to _be_ one of those constituents."

"Maybe," he conceded with a sigh.

After taking a cautionary glance at the car's other occupants, Donna hunkered her body against the door, her eyes absently tracking the blur of the city as they sped along the freeway. "Josh, why aren't you at headquarters?"

He was silent for a minute as he pondered her question. "I stopped to have coffee with a friend before going in."

"You're at the White House?"

"No," he replied sourly. "I've been told both CJ and the President are keeping a pretty tight schedule these days. Actually, I paid a visit to our other friend. The self-righteous, soon-to-be-incarcerated one."

"Josh," she hissed, folding herself impossibly closer to the car door as she did so. "Do you really think that was such a good idea? The press—"

"No one at the White House is able to talk to him, did you know that?"

"Of course they aren't Josh. Not while the investigation is ongoing." She had to consciously force herself to hold her tongue and not chastise him further for the morning's imprudent action.

"I'm just saying, the man's being indicted. He could probably use a little support right now."

The teasing words were past her lips before she could think about or stop them. "I was under the impression that the two of you weren't on speaking terms. On account of, you know, all the punch-throwing in his office a few months ago."

When he finally responded, the guilt and embarrassment were palpable. "You heard about that?"

"Josh, I was in the building for the DNC gala, too. Of course I heard about it."

"Well, we're working through our differences."

"Really?"

"It may take a decade or two."

Donna, preoccupied with trying to sort out the many twists their conversation had taken, found herself unable to formulate an adequate reply, and so settled for a non-committal, "Mmm."

A not-so-uncomfortable silence extended between them, and she found herself feeling strangely comforted by it—until the startling sound of his deliberately casual voice carried over the line. "So, I'm meeting you guys in Philadelphia on Tuesday."

"Yes," she replied cautiously, unsure of where his non-sequitur was leading, "Believe it or not I have seen the schedule for next week."

" _We_ could get together for coffee, before the rally. To go over talking points…or something."

Donna felt her cheeks color with relief, and she found herself biting the edge of her lip to keep herself from smiling like an idiot. "We could do that."

"'Kay," he said almost bashfully as his own mouth curved into a wisp of a grin. Shaking his head slightly, he struggled to refocus his thoughts on the business of the campaign. "So, you'll let me know when you guys wrap up in LA?"

"Lou'll give you a call as soon as we're wheels up."

"Lou's going to be busy cajoling her so-called friends at the networks into giving us more air time." He hesitated only a moment before adding gently, "I want you to make the call."

Donna reluctantly conceded her defeat in keeping the smile at bay. "Okay. I'll talk to you tonight, then." She was about to disconnect the call when, almost as an afterthought she raised the phone back to her ear and hastily blurted, "Hey, Josh?"

"Yeah?"

"It's not going to take us that long, is it?"

He felt his heart skip a hopeful beat. "I'll see you Tuesday."

 

*fin.*


End file.
